Starting Over

[Franchesca Capuccini]

It was hard enough as it was being forced to leave your home, especially to turn up somewhere that you didn't want to be. Franchesca had done more than that though, she'd travelled the seas to be dumped here. Something she thinks she will hold against her parents till the day they come and collect her, maybe even after then. They pulled up to the driveway, her parents trying to get her excited, which was failing, the mood for this ride was set. Grumpy and unavailable.

Eventually the driveway ended, the dust that had been chasing them had now caught up, it was now clouding the view of what Fran could see. Eventually after ten minutes of badgering, Fran got out the car, collected her suitcase and watched as her parents abandoned her. Not a wave goodbye, not even a cuddle. She was distraught, but she would never let anyone see that.

She waltzed into the reception, holding her bags tight and her limp as slight as she could manage. "Hello, I'm Franchesca Capuccini." She managed to fake a smile for the woman she saw behind the desk, she just wanted to get this done so she could go and hide in her room. Something that she wanted to do more and more as the time went on. "I'm new here, so any information would be greatly appreciated." She added, her tone lightening the more she spoke.

[Anne McDermot]

Anne hummed softly to herself as she typed up her end-of-year emails, although it had to be said that even the woman herself could not have named the song. Something traditional, certainly, but that was an awfully wide category, especially considering her origins, so that trying to work it out would probably keep her busily occupied for the rest of the day if she allowed it to.

The brunette looked up with a smile as a girl walked into the room, closing the window that she was working in and opening another. "Hello, Francesca," she returned the greeting, typing the name in and tapping the enter key to bring up all the relevant details. "Or do you prefer Fran?" She'd known many who did, and even some who preferred Cesca, although why that should be the case was something of a mystery to Anne, who had always thought the name in its entirety to be rather beautiful. Still, perhaps she would not have thought so if she had had to live with it.

"Well, I'm sure we can help you there." Tugging open a drawer, Anne took out a map and a room key. "You'll be in room ten of the Blue Ribbon House, which is here." She circled the building on the map. "Your Head of House is Ms Simone; I'm sure she'll be happy to help you with any problems. Now, I see that you haven't brought a horse of your own, so you'll need to go and speak to Ms Carr. She's the barn manager at White Oak- that's... here." It took her a moment longer to indicate the location on the map. "She'll assign a school horse for you to work with. If you have any problems, there's a phone in your room and a list of useful number on the back of the map." Clicking the top back onto her pen, Anne slid the map and the key across the desk to their newest student. "Welcome to Blue Ridge, Francesca. Any questions for me?"

[Franchesca Capuccini]

She watched the woman as she told her the information, when it came to the map she watched carefully. Then she realised why she was there, the women mentioned the word horse. Oh what a fool she’d been to think her parents would just let her go to school to enjoy it. ”Oh, Fran is fine, whatever’s easiest.” She smiled this time, trying to push aside her parents had tricked her.

”Ms. Carr, White-Oak. Got it.” She seemed oddly surprised her parents would even want her near horses again, but it made her feel somewhat excited to get back in the saddle. Her competitiveness had never left her, she’d tried hundreds of sports but nothing came close to show jumping. ”As for questions, should I go and find Ms. Carr straight away?”

Franchesca picked up the map along with the key when it was passed over, looking over the information on the back as well as the circles drawn. ”Another question, are the phones just used for the numbers provided or can we call parents? Friends?” Her tone was a little hopeful, since she wanted to spend the afternoon telling off her parents as she started to settle.

[Anne McDermot]

Anne nodded with a smile. "You can go and see Ms Carr whenever you like, so long as it's at least week or so before classes start again in September. Of course, the earlier you go, the more time you have to get used to the horse, so I'd suggest that you see her as soon as possible. Drop your things off in your room first, of course." Portering luggage around the Academy was a bit of a nightmare at the best of times, and a downright encumbrance in the barns. She would have thought that that was common sense, but experience with a number of students had taught her that this was evidently not the case.

"Yes, you can call anyone you like," she assured the brunette. "Most students prefer to use their own phones, but it's fine to use the one in your room."

[Franchesca Capuccini]

With a smile on her face she was officially done with her talk, she was ready to go and settle in Find this other woman and then find her assigned horse. The fact she was going to be riding, scared the life out of her, but she knew sooner or later she would have to do it. "Thank you, that will be all I suppose. If I have any more questions I will most likely call you." She looked at the phone numbers on the back of the piece of paper.

Her smile faded, as she thought of her past horses, how she ruined her young career. "Thanks for all the help you have given me."

[Anne McDermot]

"Not at all," she assured the newest student with a smile. "Only too pleased to help. And yes, do feel free to call. It may not be me answering the phone- I'm just covering at present; Mr Fitzsimmons is our receptionist, but he'll be more than happy to answer any questions you might have. If you do find yourself lost, anyone can give you directions. I'm afraid it's rather quiet on campus at the moment, with everyone home for the summer, but no doubt there are enough people still lingering to give you any help you need. I do hope you enjoy it here."

No doubt the girl would, of course; Anne didn't know of anyone that hadn't. But for all that, there were always exceptions to every rule, by the law of averages.

[Franchesca Capuccini]

She nodded, looking over the room once more before thinking about what she could say next. "Oh okay, so there's another receptionist? That's fine, I'm used to talking to others..." She wasn't sure on why she wasn't leaving, she wanted to, she really did but the reality of having to go and find a horse to ride was dawning on her now. "So, I should just follow this map, and everything should work out smoothly?" It wasn't really a question, more a point she was willing to make.

"Right, I better be on my way. I'd hate to keep you waiting." She shot the woman another smile, before turning on her heels, key and map in one hand, her suitcase in the other as she walked quickly out of reception and in the direction of the Blue Ribbon House by the maps location.